Bikefest to mark national peace month

MANILA, Philippines - To kick off National Peace Consciousness Month on Sept. 1, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process will have a “Bike for Peace” featuring over 300 bikers riding through the major thoroughfares of Pasig, Marikina and   San Juan before winding up the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

“This will be our inaugural event to promote National Peace Consciousness Month, led by Secretary Avelino Razon Jr.,” said PAPP Undersecretary Pedro Cesar Ramboanga Jr. in yesterday’s PSA forum at the Shakey’s UN Avenue branch in Manila.

Dominick Cabalza, who will manage the event, said the affair will usher in a series of activities for peace month that has the theme “Una sa Lahat, Kapayapaan: Putting the Peace Agenda at the Forefront.”

Ramboanga disclosed that aside from spearheading peace negotiations in strife-torn Mindanao, the government agency is at the head of promoting peace and harmony “in our conflict-oriented society.”

Ramboanga added that September was chosen as peace month based on a directive of President Arroyo in 2004 because of the numerous peace and reconciliation milestones that marked the month in the past.